Fatalities data prior to 1975 have been adjusted to reflect the Fatality Analysis Reporting System's definition of a fatal crash as one that involves a motor vehicle on a trafficway, which results in the death of a vehicle occupant or a nonmotorist within 30 days of the crash.

Crashes are the rounded sum of fatal crashes, an actual count from the Fatality Analysis Reporting System, and injury crashes and property damage only crashes, which are estimates from the National Automotive Sampling System-General Estimates System.

SOURCES

Fatalities:

1960-70: Estimated by U.S. Department of Transportation, National Highway Traffic Safety Administration from data supplied by U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, National Center for Health Statistics, and individual state accident reports (adjusted to 30-day deaths).

1975-2013: U.S. Department of Transportation, National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, National Center for Statistics and Analysis, personal communication, March 2015.

Injured persons and crashes:

U.S. Department of Transportation, National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, National Center for Statistics and Analysis, personal communication, March 2015.